Clearwater Falls. Getting Near the End.

Whew, it's now over a week since our epic hiking day on Monday, July 3. We ultimately visited 7 different waterfalls along the North Umpqua River watershed. My plan had been for 8— well, my plan had been for 6, then we added two easy ones mid-afternoon knowing that either or both of the last two longer ones might fall off the plan as we get near the end of our energy (and time, too).

Hike number 6 was Clearwater Falls. Along with Whitehorse Falls it's one of the short ones we added late in the day. From the quiet parking lot it was a level walk of less than 100 meters to a wooden viewing platform with benches.



The Clearwater River gets its name from the exceptional clarity of its water. It bubbles up from springs about a mile upstream from this falls. The water in those springs flows through multiple layers of dried lava (laid down like layers on a layer cake by successive eruptions further up the mountain) that filter it out quiet well. They also keep it at a consistent flow across the year despite the otherwise heavy spring melt cycle followed by summer and fall drought.

Maybe it's the gentle, consistent flow of the water, but this area is popular with mosquitos. They hadn't been a factor on other trails today, but here I was slapping them two and even three at a time. Maybe it's the elevation over 4,000' where they've just hatched for the summer. At least these young'uns are easy to swat. They're like, "Hey, mom, look, I can fly! Buzz, buzz!" Then *splat* with my hand.



While Hawk waited down at the viewing platform, not able to walk further than that (she was still recovering from a muscle tear 2 weeks earlier), I scrambled up a short but steep path along the side of the falls, swatting mosquitoes the whole time. There were nice views from right next to the falls, shown above. I also picked my way out atop the falls and got Hawk's attention to take a picture. I'll have to get a copy of that one from her.

Warm Springs Falls

The last of our hiking treks a week ago Monday in the Oregon Cascades was to Warm Springs Falls. This one was a bit remote. All the previous hikes were basically right off State Route 138. This one involved driving north a few miles from near the top of the pass to Lemolo Lake on a narrow road, then to a small reservoir on a narrower road, then downhill from there another few miles on a dirt road.

One nice thing about driving dirt roads to get to trailheads is that they filter out some of the crowds. Even when they're not 4x4 routes (this one certainly wasn't) a lot of people avoid them like they are. I spotted one car that turned around and went back when the pavement ended, plus another one that should have (they made a wrong turn and were driving painfully slow). When we got to the trailhead for Warm Springs Falls, marked only by a small wooden sign nailed to a tree, there were just 2 other vehicles there.

It's a good thing there was that little sign, because otherwise we might have missed it. The trail starts out in deep forest beneath mature fir trees with soft dirt and pine needles underfoot. It's fittingly quiet here— except for the sound of rushing water in the distance. That, other than the small sign, was our only clue we were in the right place.



The trail winds about 0.5 km (0.3 mi) through deep forest to a lookout point atop a ridge over the falls. There, the fairly tall and wide falls emerge, pouring into a wide bowl. Again, until you get to pretty much this spot there's little clue other than the distant sound these falls are here. The trail doesn't cross the river, nor are the falls or canyon visible until you're literally on top of them.



Hawk joined me in hiking this trail even after swearing she was done at Whitehorse Falls and Clearwater Falls. I kind of suspected she might find enough gas in the tank for this easy, 0.6 mile roundtrip after taking it more slowly for an hour or two.

Epic Waterfalls Hiking Day: It's a Wrap!

Whew. I am now done with blogging about the epic waterfalls hiking day we had a week ago Monday (July 3). Seven different falls, seven different trails, and it only took a week to catch up. Though I did say a week ago that it'd take me a week to finish. 😅 The falls were:

1. Susan Creek Falls
2. Fall Creek Falls
3. Toketee Falls (and carwash!)
4. Watson Falls
5. Whitehorse Falls
6. Clearwater Falls
7. Warm Springs Falls

There were additions and subtractions to this list as we went. Originally I started with #1-4, 7, and Lemolo Falls on my to-do list. After #4, Toketee Falls, we realized we likely would not have the stamina to do everything. We added on #5-6, a pair of very easy walks, after chatting with some fellow travelers.

With Warm Springs and Lemolo left on the list for last, we chose to hike Warm Springs Falls first because it was the easier of the two. Its 0.6 mile round trip distance and lack of significant climbing meant we were sure we both could do it at the end of the day. The Lemolo Falls Trail was 2 miles round trip with an ascent of almost 1,000 feet on the return. By late in the day Hawk was not in condition to do that. I thought I might be.... But even if I were, I calculated that hiking a trail that long would have us arriving at our hotel in Portland (we drove 419 miles in addition to hiking 7 trails!) close to 1am. Thus I decided bailing out on Lemolo Falls was the right thing to do.

By Tuesday morning it was clear skipping Lemolo falls was absolutely the right thing to do. One of my feet was badly sore with a blister. I am sad that I missed Lemolo Falls... though missing it is only for now. It goes on the list to hike on our next trip in that area!

Is Video Easier than Stills?

Last week Monday wasn't even our only day of hiking an epic seven waterfalls. We hiked eight falls the Saturday before it! And I didn't get backlogged on writing about those. What gives?!

Well, two big things were different. First, those eight falls were on one epic trail, the Trail of Ten Falls. Second, I recorded video at most of the falls. I then spliced together 10 or so short clips into a 2m 40s video. That turned out to be easier than processing photos and writing about them. With Tuesday's seven falls I forgot about doing video.

Seeing now how the efforts compare I will endeavor to make video more often on my hiking trips.